100819 Minot Task Force 21 and Geostrategic Analysis Triad Nuclear
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
100819 Minot Task Force 21 and Geostrategic Analysis Triad Nuclear Modernization Conference with former Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Jack Weinstein MR. PETER HUESSY: Good morning, everybody. My name is Peter Huessy and this is the 18th symposium we’ve done on nuclear deterrence since September of 2012. These are events I’ve put together with our great friends from Minot, North Dakota to inform the professional nuclear community about the current state of the nuclear enterprise, current nuclear policy issues, nuclear developments that affect U.S. security, arms control futures, industry contributions and technology developments and challenges we are facing, including some Congressional views. One event each year is at or near a U.S. military base with significant nuclear responsibilities, with participation and partnership with the base commander and officials. Though it’s not final yet, next July we will probably be doing our next triad event at Global Strike Command in Louisiana. We’ve also done these conferences in Minot, North Dakota, Kings Bay, Georgia, Kitsap‐Bangor, Washington, Hill Air Force Base, and three times in Crane, Indiana. Every year we also do an event here in Washington, D.C. in the first week of October, co‐sponsored by Task Force 21 and Geostrategic Analysis. I could not do these events ‐‐ including my breakfast seminars, which now number about 1,800 that we’ve done since March of 1983 – I could not do it without the support of my friends in industry. Particularly today I would like to thank the Aerospace Corporation, Boeing, General Dynamics Electric Boat and General Dynamics Mission Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Would you all give them a round of applause for their support? (Applause). And now I’d like to introduce my friend and colleague from North Dakota, Mark Janser, who is chairman of Task Force 21, who will be introducing our first speaker. Would you welcome Mark Janser? (Applause). MR. MARK JANSER: Thank you, Peter. It’s great to be here this morning. Thank you for your partnership. On behalf of Task Force 21 of Minot, welcome. We are an activity of the Minot Chamber of Commerce that educates the local community, North Dakota officials, members of Congress, and the public on national security issues, particularly ones that affect Minot Air Force Base, the U.S. Air Force and our nuclear deterrent. As many of you know, Minot is America’s only military base that is home to two legs of the nuclear triad, with B‐52 bombers and Minuteman III ICBMs. This is the eighth triad conference that Task Force 21 has hosted in association with Peter Huessy, going back to September of 2012. All of these have been focused on building a consensus to devote sufficient resources to sustain and modernize all three legs of our nuclear triad. We hope that these events have contributed to good progress during those years, and it seems so. The Air Force has taken important steps to move ahead with acquisition programs for the B‐21 long range bomber, the next generation cruise missile, and a follow‐on ICBM. The Navy is making good progress with the Ohio Replacement Program. We are confident these modernization initiatives show there is a growing consensus within Congress and among the public regarding our nuclear deterrent. Before introducing our first speaker, I’d like to acknowledge a group of “Only the Best Come North” airmen from Minot Air Force Base seated over here. How about giving them a round of applause? (Applause). I’m glad you could be with us this morning. We appreciate your service. Now I want to introduce a good friend, retired Lieutenant General Jack Weinstein. When he retired last year after a career of 36 years in the Air Force, Jack was deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. He is now Professor Jack Weinstein of practice of international relations at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies. Jack was also the steely‐eyed guy at 20th Air Force when he told the American people on “60 Minutes” what ICBMs were doing for our nation. He was the right guy in the right place at that time, so thank you for that. He spoke at our event two years ago in 2017, and we’re delighted to have him back. He looks a little different, but that’s what happens when you get out of the Air Force, I guess. He’s going to talk about securing the GBSD and the future of ICBMs. Jack Weinstein. (Applause). MR. JACK WEINSTEIN: Mark, thank you for that great introduction. My goal in life was to always grow up and to look like Mark, so I’m getting kind of close to that. (Laughter). It has been also wonderful to run into old friends that I haven’t seen for a long time, because they give me the same stare. They stare and they go, oh, it’s you. So to the people I respect deeply at Minot Air Force base, yes, one day you can grow up and grow your hair long and have a beard. I will tell you that life is wonderful on the other side, just like it was wearing the uniform. My students did ask me at Boston University if they should call me general or professor. So, I told them general worked for a while, but I really like to be called professor now. It gives me a more seasoned look. With this group here I was going to say a little more mature, but knowing the people that are looking at me right now, I wouldn’t say mature. I would just use the word seasoned. I also want to talk a little bit about the school. I’ve had the fortune to develop my own classes for the fall semester. This semester I’m teaching a class called 21st Century Deterrence: Nuclear, Space and Cyber. What’s fascinating about that is on day one I asked them about the ICBM force and I got all these great comments from students on why the ICBM force is of such value. And that was before I even talked and said one thing. So there was a knowledge level there that I was really excited about. The other course I’m teaching is leadership and cultural change. We’ve had a lot to do with that. I’m looking at my good friend Jim Kowalski, because we spend a lot of time together, and we’re doing some really world stories on that. Next semester we’re teaching defense planning, and we’re also teaching a course called “Cyber security and U.S. National Security.” As I’ve told my friends, I love being in academia. I will tell you, though, that it’s a lot more work than I thought because for the first time in my entire life I am actually doing all the reading. (Laughter). I’m telling you, I didn’t realize how much reading I gave the students until I had to read it all, so I have a briefcase in my room with tons of stuff to read. I retired from the United States Air Force exactly 368 days ago. During those 368 days the Red Sox won the World Series. I won’t talk about this year. The Patriots won another Super Bowl. But there’s one thing that has not changed, the world is still a dangerous, complex and challenging international environment, and the need to modernize the entire triad is as important today as it was then, and I will say it’s more‐so today based on what’s going on. Now, how many people have seen the YouTube video, or watched on TV, the military parade in Beijing for the 70th anniversary? If you have not watched it, you need to. It was a clear display of China’s military prowess. It wasn’t a simple military parade, but a clear display of deterrence, a clear display that we are here and we are not going to get pushed around. I couldn’t agree more than with Andrew Erickson, who is a professor at the Naval War College, who wrote, “Arguably today the biggest single statement for foreign consumption, literally backstopping the entire parade, was China’s debut of the DF‐41 solid fueled road mobile intercontinental ballistic missile.” China’s newest, most powerful, most advanced nuclear weapons system, and the DF‐41 has clearly been designed and deployed with deterring the United States in mind. It’s also described as the cornerstone of China’s nuclear weapons power, and this is part of Beijing’s comprehensive missile‐centric effort at nuclear and conventional deterrence. But there were other missiles displayed in that parade, including the DF‐100 and CJ‐100 supersonic cruise missile, prominently displaying the DF‐17 conventional missile with its hypersonic glide vehicle. Other missiles in the parade were the DF‐5 ICBM with multiple independently targeted re‐entry vehicles, the DF‐31 AG mobile ICBM, the JL‐2 submarine‐ launched ballistic missile, and the DF‐26 nuclear and conventional intermediate range ballistic missile, and I’m only skimming the surface. I haven’t talked about the aircraft that flew over that parade. Seriously, if you haven’t watched it, you really need to watch it. It is public affairs and deterrence at its best. I’ve only talked about China’s nuclear modernization efforts. Russia also has a new formidable nuclear triad. So, why are we still debating the need to modernize the triad in the building next door? And why am I reading articles by some that say we need to modify the Air Force acquisition strategy, which regardless what you read, would delay ICBM modernization? I wanted to title this talk, “I Don’t Understand.” Russia and China have shown us their playbook, and some in this country are still discussing what an acquisition strategy should look like.